Volume 4—Chapter 120: Shifting Battle
Have you ever had free time and no idea what to do, so you ended up exploring your own city just to use up the day?
Sure, you could spend that time learning something new, reading a novel, or watching a film. But sometimes none of that clicks, and walking through parts of your city you’ve never really seen somehow becomes its own kind of healing.
Why am I bringing this up?
Well, right now I’m exploring every part of Tsukuru City I’ve never seen before.
Not for that reason, though.
“Irana, don’t let go! Hold on tight!”
Because Viola, my close friend, was currently dragging me all over the city by teleporting every other second.
“I know,” I said, gripping her arm tighter. “But do you really have to teleport this fast every second?”
“Well, we don’t have a choice,” Viola replied. “The goal isn’t to get away. We’re supposed to lure them around the city.”
“Then what?” I asked.
A voice came through my smartwatch before Viola could answer.
“All other espers will handle the rest. I’ve already sent them instructions.”
Elizabeth-sensei.
I let out a sigh.
As bait, there really wasn’t much I could do.
Still, aren't there better ways?
“Hey, Viola, why don’t we teleport a short distance away, attack them, then teleport again once they get close?”
Viola blinked.
“Oh. That’s actually a better idea.”
And she immediately went with it.
We appeared on the rooftop of a two-story building.
I formed an ice spear and hurled it at one of the flying snakes chasing us. The creature burst apart, but the rest kept coming.
The moment they got too close, Viola grabbed me.
The world twisted.
We reappeared on another rooftop.
The whole thing turned into a repeating cycle.
Attack.
Teleport.
Attack.
Teleport.
Other espers nearby joined in, blasting the flying snakes from the streets and rooftops below, but even then, it felt endless.
No matter how many we destroyed, more kept coming.
While we kept up the routine, a sharp gasp suddenly came through my smartwatch.
“Hey, what happened?” I asked, my voice rising.
“The dragon,” one of the espers said.
The dragon?
I looked up.
My stomach dropped.
Oh damn.
We’re screwed.
Nidhogg was descending.
Its massive body had moved lower, its shadow spreading wider across the city.
Did that witch-like girl get defeated?
I couldn’t see her anywhere.
“Sensei! Any instructions on how to proceed?” I asked through the smartwatch.
Elizabeth-sensei answered at once.
“Viola. Teleport Irana to a remote island.”
“Huh?”
Before I could even complain, Viola grabbed my arm.
Space folded.
The city vanished.
A second later, my feet hit solid ground.
Sand.
Ocean wind.
A remote island.
“Viola, what are you doing?!” I shouted.
“Um, sorry,” Viola said, looking guilty. “I’m just following orders.”
“Teleport me back. I can still fight those things,” I said.
But before I could say anything else, Viola teleported away.
Just like that.
I stared at the empty air where she had been.
“…What the heck?”
They really left me alone here.
I reach out to my smartwatch, trying to contact Elizabeth-sensei and Viola… but I’ve been cut off from communication.
Why?
Even if my fighting capability isn’t up to par, that giant monster is clearly targeting me. I could at least be used as bait.
But why is that monster targeting me?
Is this related to Onee-chan? Is that why the monsters are targeting me?
Is that why the monsters are going after me?
Did she blame me for failing my mission? For not stopping her from awakening that power?
That doesn’t make sense.
She didn’t even know she had that power.
So why would she blame me for something like that?
I frown, trying to piece it together.
…Still, I can’t think of any other reason.
Somehow, I’m sure it has something to do with her.
I just don’t know how.
As I think it through, i heard something.
Something hits the ground.
“Ouch… I really need to learn how to land better.”
A girl’s voice.
Familiar.
I turn.
A girl with black twin tails stands a short distance away, wearing the academy sailor uniform.
“Kotori? Why are you here?”
Minami Kotori freezes when she hears me.
“Oh… um… Irana… fancy seeing you here…” she says, a bit stiff.
She looks around, taking in the empty island.
“Uh… where are we?”
“No clue.”
I walk toward her.
Then I reach out and touch her shoulder.
Why, you ask?
To make sure she’s real.
I’ve been looking for her for days.
At one point, I even started to question my own memory. If she ever existed at all.
But she’s here.
Right in front of me.
Come to think of it… all of this started because I was searching for her.
“Um… Irana… what are you doing?” Kotori asked.
“Are you even real?” I said.
She blinked, clearly caught off guard.
“Oh… yeah… that… how do I even explain this…” Kotori muttered, scratching her cheek.
I let out a small breath.
“…Never mind. That can wait.”
There were more urgent things right now.
“For now…”
I looked straight at her.
“…Are you an Esper?”
Kotori hesitated.
Her eyes shifted left and right, like she was weighing how to answer.
“…I am,” she said.
“You are, huh…” I nodded. “Can you fight?”
“I can,” she replied.
“That’s great…”
I turned my gaze across the island.
It looked quiet, but that didn’t mean anything. Even if no new cracks had opened after Nidhogg appeared, the monsters left behind should still be somewhere around.
“…Wait.”
A thought clicked.
If that monster was targeting me…
Then sending me here wasn’t random.
It was intentional.
Which means…
The wind shifted.
No.
It surged.
I looked up.
And there it was.
The same spiral tearing through the sky, just like in Tsukuru City.
“…Of course.”
Something massive began to push through.
Nidhogg.
“I see… so that’s why.”
Before it could fully emerge, another presence appeared beside me.
Elizabeth-sensei.
Viola stood next to her for a brief second, then vanished again, teleporting away.
One by one, espers began to appear across the island.
Reinforcements.
“Sorry for the wait, Irana,” Elizabeth-sensei said. “We had to make sure it would come here.”
Well… having the battle here instead of in the city was much safer. I took a step forward and steadied myself, ready to fight.
But then…
More figures appeared.
Yukari.
Ariana.
They arrived at the same time, space folding around them as Viola continued bringing people in.
Then I noticed it.
Someone was clinging tightly to Ariana’s waist.
“…Wait.”
My eyes widened.
“Syena?!”
Why are you here!!
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